MOBILE, Ala. (September 29, 2016) -- White-Spunner Construction Inc. (WSC) a leading contractor in the Southeast and ranked 19th largest general contractor in Alabama in 2015 by Business Alabama, recently won a competitive bid to expand The Birth Center at Thomas Hospital in Fairhope.

The $4.2 million construction project will increase the size of the hospital’s birth center from 18,000 square feet to more than 29,000 square feet. Upon completion, the center will feature seven rooms for labor, delivery and recovery and 15 postpartum rooms. The fourth-floor expansion and renovation also will add a second operating room, enlarging the nursery, updating several nurse stations, as well as family gathering areas, a staff lounge, professional offices and other support rooms.

More than 1,200 babies a year are being delivered at Thomas Hospital in a unit that is reaching capacity, said Ormand Thompson, president of Thomas Hospital.

"White-Spunner’s reputation is unparalleled in our area," Thompson said. "They are invested in this community. We are confident they will do an outstanding job and provide the type of facility designed to exceed our patients’ expectations.”

With a long history of bringing in health care projects on time and in budget, WSC has successfully completed dozens of projects for hospitals, state laboratories and private physicians in Alabama and Mississippi. In fact, the collaboration with Infirmary Health spans more than two decades.

Craig E. Blackburn, a senior project manager at WSC, said he’s looking forward to making The Birth Center at Thomas Hospital ready to meet the needs of a growing population on the Eastern Shore.

"It's great to be able to work with the hospital again," Blackburn said. "When you are dealing with something as crucial as health care, it's exciting to have the opportunity to deliver a state-of-the-art setting for families going through such a special time of life. We feel honored to have
been chosen for this project."

Baldwin County remains one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation with no slowdown expected to the population boom it has been experiencing for more than a decade. Because of that, the Thomas Hospital Foundation and local community have been working on a capital campaign and has successfully raised $6 million out of the total project price of $9.5 million to fund The Birth Center expansion. The Fairhope Single Tax Corporation recently made over a pledge to contribute over a million dollars to the effort.

“The residents of our community depend on Thomas Hospital and need the Birth Center to grow as the population increases,” said Lee Turner, President of the Fairhope Single Tax Corporation. “The Fairhope Single Tax Corporation wants to support our community by helping Thomas Hospital grow.”

The architectural firm selected for the Thomas Hospital expansion is Evan Terry Associates, LLC. Neil King is the project architect. The Birth Center Project is set to be completed in May 2017.